Free Will and Determinism Can Coexist

Can freewill and determinism coexist?
Discuss the claim that we humans have no real freedom of choice.

Throughout history, the problem of freewill vs. determinism has sparked major debates between philosophers.

The debate between freewill and determinism stems from the apparent conflict between the universal rule of causality that is deeply rooted in nature, and between the apparent ability of human beings to choose between multiple courses of action in order to lead to the most desirable outcome. The universal rule of causality simply claims that inorganic matter such as tables, chairs and rocks are acted upon by whatever forces affect it, however, human beings seem to be an exception to this rule by their unique ability to ponder about how to go about making decisions in their life and which principles and morals to live by. In simple terms, determinism is the thesis that everything is caused whereas on the other hand, the doctrine of freewill maintains that some of our actions are free. It is for this reason that the problem of freewill and determinism is a paradox because these two equally evident assumptions seem to lead to inconsistent results and leads to the question about whether or not freewill and determinism can co-exist.

It is for this reason also that nowadays one must accept as a fait accompli that the problem of finding out whether free will and determinism are compatible or whether freedom of choice actually does exist is a large part, perhaps the major part of the problem of free will and determinism; Van Inwagen book.

On the other hand, other such incompatibilists accept freewill and disagree with the determinist position; these incompatibilists are known as “Metaphysical libertarians,” such as Thomas Reid and Peter Van Inwagen. Van Inwagen ( ) in his book claims that many philosophers hold not only that free will is compatible with determinism but that free will entails determinism.

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...One of the most compelling debates of the present day is the one between determinism and free will. Questions of this issue reach back for centuries. But the current controversy has been sparked by new theories in physics and science that question whether or not the universe is determined and what freedoms humans have as part of that natural system. There have been many advances in learning how the human brain functions that have put the concept of free will into question. Atheists remain divided on the question of free will. Many secular thinkers do not find the idea of human free will a robust one. Others are convinced of the will’s free agency. Many atheists now maintain a compatibilist stance that intention and choice are possible within a determinist system. The issue is complicated for atheists by their mistrust of theistic concepts, particularly the notion of an immortal soul, which is somehow transposed on the body in a supernatural manner, and makes choices independent of the material working of the brain. Atheists generally believe that the mind is the function of the instantiated brain and the idea of a “little man” making decisions somewhere in the brain is not a salient one. They do not accept the explanations from prominent Christian theologians such as Alvin Plantinga, who maintains that free will is so necessary that it justifies the existence of moral...

...﻿What are the implications of determinism for our understanding of free will? Argue your position.
There are several implications of determinism that illustrate our understanding of free will. It is a general understanding that we as humans should be free to make our own choices our lives; yet we also understand that events, including human behaviour, may have a prior cause, perhaps due to natural or some other circumstance. This paper aims to identify and present these implications of determinism on free will.
Naturally, we are raised in a society where ‘agency’ or the ability to act freely is a given birth right (in most countries anyway), subsequently followed by the self being regulated over time to develop socially acceptable and rational conduct, through autonomy. Already we are able to identify how determinism holds an impact on one’s free will. How can we have true ‘freedom’ and free will to behave as we wish, when it is already determined that the society will live in will regulate our ability to make choices and decisions in life? A fear of determinism on free will is that, if it is true, humans are no longer accountable for the consequences of their actions through their freedom. Hence to say that human reasoning has no influence on the final outcome.
This raises further...

...﻿Position Paper
I am writing on Free will and determinism. I am supporting that free will exist and that we control and are responsible for what we do. I will argue that free will better fits our life, than determinism. Determinism is basically some other power controls everything in life, and what we do. Even though people will argue that God controls everything we do, which I agree with, but the fact that everything is already pre-determined in our life, I don’t support. I don’t support determinism because there are things in life, that people do that I don’t think God would wish on anyone, but I think God turns a bad situation into a good one as only as you have faith in him. Free will gives us the freedom to do what we want, and if have a choice. Free will says that we have a choice, and the choices we make will affect our lives in any way, good or bad. When you are under peer pressure to drink, you have the right to say yes or no, and you have to live with your choices. (I do not believe that God knows whether you’re going to give in to your friends or stand your ground.) The support of determinism states that human action is controlled externally; however, the substantial evidence and support of human free will suggest that free will ultimately controls our action.
Free will is the...

...﻿A) Discuss & evaluate competing ideas of free will & determinism in explaining human behaviour
To discuss free will and determinism, we must first define what these are. Free will is considered to be the conscious decisions we make thus making us behave in a certain way. Furthermore, behaviour can also be determined to be voluntary if it is not automatic and not done under necessity.
Free will results in an individual having responsibility for their actions, often morally. Those who suffer from mental disabilities have a reduced responsibility for their actions due to them not being considered “free to choose” the behaviour they undertake. This is considered to be an ethical, penal and societal justification for Free Will, as it allows for rewards and punishment accordingly. Oftentimes, individuals often take steps to prove their self-determination by being resistant to circumstances that may change their behaviour, such as being told to do something.
Determinism on the other hand is generally considered to be more scientific (and the way that Psychology should be treated if it were to be a science according to William James), explaining that behaviour is as a result of various external and internal factors that we do not have as much control over (we are passive responders), for example reinforcement as an outside force or...

...1
The Compatibility of Free Will and Determinism
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The Compatibility of Free Will and Determinism
One of the biggest issues regarding criminal activity is deciding how to assign moral
responsibility to each situation. This critical question has caused the world to take a step back,
ponder the origination of individual choices, and decide whether people are determined or not.
Determinism supports the claim that “all events are the necessary result of previous
causes” (Lawhead, 267). Therefore, a determinist would say that our choices are inevitable
outcomes of the causal order. Incompatibilism claims that determinism is not compatible with the
sort of freedom required to be morally responsible for our behavior. On the other hand,
compatibilism refers to the notion that if determinism is true, then free will can still occur. I shall
argue that determinism and free will are not compatible, that people do have the freedom
necessary to be held accountable for their actions, and that, therefore, compatibilism does not
accurately capture the idea of philosophical freedom. I will do this by contrasting metaphysical
and circumstantial freedom, explaining why metaphysical freedom cannot co-exist with
determinism, and rebutting objections to this theory.
My claim is that people do have the...

...decisions due to habituation and preference. Before going further, we must define the terms free will, determinism and fate or destiny. Free will is the ability to choose. Furthermore, it is the power of making free choices that are unconstrained by external circumstances or by an agency such as fate. Fate, or destiny, can be defined as the inevitable events predestined by this force. However, there is a better position to take when it comes to arguing against free will; and that position, or belief, is called determinism. Determinism states that the conditions at one moment are the necessary result from the "previous" conditions. Simply put, every effect has a cause, every action is predetermined. Unlike fate or destiny, it does not mean the future is already established. It is one thing to say that our choice is caused. It is another thing to say that we do not choose, and fate says, we cannot choose. This is definitely an endless argument given that it is a matter of personal opinion with no facts involved. However, free will definitely seems like the most plausible standpoint. We do have free will.
First of all, we can all experience something within ourselves that we can conclude to be a decision making process. These decisions we make are obviously made from our own will and not determined by anything...

...Free Will is defined as the ability of agents to make choices unconstrained by certain factors. Libertarians believe in free will and recognize that freedom and determinism are incompatible.. The determinist also follow the doctrine of incompatibility.
According to A.J. Ayer, the problem of free will arises from the apparent incompatibility of two common assumptions about human action : excepting certain rare and easily identifiable cases, human action is free in the sense required for holding agents responsible for their actions, and that like all events, human actions are governed by deterministic causal laws. If human actions are governed by such laws, it would seem that we are never free to act otherwise than we do and hence that we can never be held responsible for what we do. Much of the free will debate has proceeded with determinists on one side affirming and denying and those Ayer calls “moralists” doing exactly the opposite in an attempt to preserve the reality or legitimacy of moral responsibility. Ayer believes that this way of proceeding is hopeless for the moralists because so long as we understand the freedom required for moral responsibility as freedom from causal determination, then will be false whether it is true or not. Ayer argues that the freedom required for moral responsibility should not be construed as freedom from...

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Intro to Philosophy
10/28/12
Free Will versus Determinism
Right now I am writing this paper, for philosophy class, and it is due tomorrow. The question is, from the time I was born, was it pre-determined that I was going to write this paper? Since the beginning of religion, people have argued whether or not everything we do is pre-determined. The belief that every action a person makes has been pre-determined is called determinism. On the other side of this belief is the belief of free will. Free will is the belief that a person chooses what happens to them through their own actions. In the argument of free will versus determinism, there are three positions that can be taken for this argument. The positions that can be taken are hard determinism, libertarianism, and soft determinism. Hard determinism is the belief that everything in the universe is determined by casual laws, or is pre-determined. Libertarianism is the belief that there are some actions in which a person causes the outcome or in other words, the belief that people choose what happens to them. And finally, there is soft determinism. Soft determinism is the belief that there are certain things in life that are pre-determined and there are some things in life that a person chooses to happen through their...